FRANCE. Paris. 1989 © Elliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos
14.06 STYLE & FASHION
ELLIOTT ERWITT. RETROSPECTIVE
GALLERY
it's a dog life! Images of a dog universe

Vienna hosts a must for those who love photography and dogs like ELISABETTA FRANCHI. From 14 June to 30 September 2012 Kunst Haus Wien is proud to present “Elliott Erwitt. Retrospective.

Erwitt (1928), with over 60 years of activity, is one of the great masters of photography of last century. In his extraordinary career has photographed anything from Hollywood stars to influential policicians, as well as street photography and fashion photography.

We love him for some of his famous snapshots dedicated to dogs, one of his favourite subjects.

Elliott Erwitt, the “Woody Allen of photography”, who views his subjects with his heart as much as with his eye, captures human – sometimes all-too-human – situations in his oeuvre. Kunst Haus Wien presents pieces of the mosaic that is Erwitt’s reality, taken from over half a century of his photographic work. This comprehensive retrospective includes about 150 works by a highly active photographer.

Erwitt is one of the leading photographers of his generation. Extremely versatile, with a broad spectrum of interests, he points his camera at human – sometimes all-too-human – situations: Some of them involve animals, others are political, still others capture a touching moment. Erwitt himself calls this the “essence of what happens”.

Photography, for Erwitt, is above all an “art of observation” that depends first and foremost on the special way in which one views the world. Photography is about really seeing things: “You either see, or you don’t see.” His photographs reflect the irony of life, which perhaps explains why he is sometimes fondly called the “Woody Allen of photography”.

These two photographs that we love testimony his great skill of expressing irony and his ability to make you smile and think at the same time.

He has always remained an amateur and has always taken photographs for his own pleasure. The photographer relates to dogs on a very friendly basis. He barks at them and photographs them in situations that show how “human” they can be. He takes some of these photos on walks in Central Park in New York, others at dog fairs and dog pageants. Erwitt’s dog photos have filled whole books and he could probably pride himself on having created the first image of dogs as cultural creatures.

An exhibition not to be missed!

The exhibition at KUNST HAUS WIEN will run from 14 June to 30 September 2012Visit the museum’s website at Kunst Haus Wien

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